They Walked, We Walked: Tales From the Strike

Published: December 21, 2005

To the Editor:

As a New Yorker, I'm grateful to the transit workers, who get me and millions of other New Yorkers to work every single day. It's unbelievable that the city would resort to forcing these workers back to work with threats.

Instead of hiding behind the Taylor Law, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority should pay the transit workers what they're worth.

In fact, the transit workers are asking for less than what the strike is costing the city. So why are the governor and the mayor blaming the workers instead of pressuring the M.T.A. to stop stonewalling and meet the strikers' simple demands?

The mayor promised that he would look out for the needs of the city's workers and middle class. He can start by getting the M.T.A. to negotiate in good faith and helping everyone get back to work.